THE DARK KNIGHT

I'm so far behind, it's killing me. Like maybe literally; there are dark circles under my eyes. Or there would be, if I weren't dark, in general.

Maybe it's the fact that I have so much to write about here--following DARK KNIGHT, I'm still to type about dinner at KETCHUP, brunch at THE WAFFLE, a matinee of WICKED, dinner at CITIZEN SMITH, a screening of MAMMA MIA, followed a week later by the French film NE LE DIS A PERSONNE, brunch at KOKOMO, a screening of HUMBOLDT COUNTY, a Sunday night at AREA, another advance screening, this time of PINEAPPLE EXPRESS, and tonight, a viewing of the doc, AMERICAN TEEN--yeah, I'm cultured--or maybe it's the fact that I still have yet to recover from my midnight screening of the greatest superhero movie of all time. Christian Bale, I blame you. You beat up bad guys, your mom, and now I'm suffering, too. I feel like I haven't slept in over a week. Mostly because I barely have. But you know what, for Batman...it's worth it.

DARK KNIGHT unfurls like an envelope being pulled from a joker's sleeve. Maybe that analogy is hard to consider, but think about it. A joker pulls an envelope from his sleeve...and it's attached to a series of handkerchiefs that just keep coming out and coming out and unfurling and whirling, and you're going, "Where did all that come from," and he goes, "Uh, it's magic." Well, that's the DARK KNIGHT. Bale is magic, Caine is magic, Freeman is magic, and above all, Ledger is magic--and not like that Harry Potter wingardium business. This is the dark, twisty, sinewy magic that only an antihero with depth and a story with harmony, birthed from the tomes of DC Comics or written by the likes of Frank Miller, can incite. Well done, Christopher Nolan. You had me at "Hello." Unless the first word of the movie was something different, in which case, you had me at that word.

I'll get to the other movies, restaurants and nightclubs later.

THE DARK KNIGHT
Plot: Batman goes dark for good.
Thought: Seriously, Spidey, you've been pummeled.
In five: 5/5 (Is that a first for letop5? I'm going to have to check the archives. And I'm not saying there were no flaws. The Scarecrow--SPOILER ALERT!--just falling away less than half way in was one of them. The guy--GASP, AGAIN!--threatening to out Batman was another. But I don't believe in 3/4s of a star, so I had to round up.)

Awake, after a hard day's night

Oy, the month of June was ROUGH. It was R-U-F-F, rough. You know. Super gritty.

First, I traveled to Town City to visit Alimenti, Curly Beast and Boston Boi (and Oprah at Stanford), and though the friends and food were good, I got travel-lagged. When I returned to brief wellness shortly thereafter, I suffered from a monster nosebleed that put me in the ER for a night followed by a dicey week and a half of recovery time (yeah, recovery from a nosebleed--who knew it had to be done?). After that, Mom visited, partially to nurse me back to health, partially to vacay in the city of combustible dreams, partially to treat me to a new wardrobe. It made for a wonderful five days, but at any rate, it took up a lot of my time. And then came Fire City. Oy. Add to that the flat tire the city bequeathed me. Double oy. Furthermore, though my boss is on vacation, I haven't even been able to enjoy it with long lunches, extended coffee breaks and casual clothing. One, did I mention the new wardrobe? Two, I'm busy at work! Why? Because I missed so much time after the nosebleed and the doctor appointments and the mother and the Vegas. Yup, it's busy at work, busy at home, busy all around.

This might make it seem like I haven't had the time to watch movies or visit mertibale eateries. Eating out, yeah, haven't had the time, nor the money (do you KNOW how expensive doctors are?). But since the doctor instructed me to eat cold foods and engage in relaxing activities that don't stress or heat me up (gym time, voting, filing taxes and lovemaking are all out), I have seen a movie or two. Or three. Or almost all the movies out in the major theatres. I've also eaten a lot of soy ice cream.

I've seen so many movies, I'm not going to write about them. Just assume I've seen them. But the faves of the last four weeks are (in this order):
1. HANCOCK - the critics are wrong! Wrong, wrong! Wrong! Will Smith, Jason Bateman and Charlize are GREAT.
2. WANTED - "loom of fate" plot makes NO sense, but it is fun, and it's got James Hot McAvoy.
3. GET SMART - better than you'd think; it's actually quite funny.
4. KUNG FU PANDA - I'm telling you, it kicks WALL-E's cute, metal butt.
5. THE LOVE GURU - juuuuuust kidding. Didn't see it, ain't gonna. Not even for my boyfriend. Sorry, Justin.*

So to rest after my movie madness during the weeks of endless busy this week, I'm taking a brief break from the movie watching...NOT. DARK KNIGHT comes out Thursday night. And I already have tickets to the midnight showing. But let's see if I make it there on time, since I'll be running to the airport to pick up visitors numbers two and three of this wonderful, hot month about two hours before the movie starts. Will we make it? WE WILL TRY.

*=thanks for the TV, boo!